ROBOCODE -- Irish third level programmers challenge themselves in Robocode, a series of competitive events beween dozens of collegiate teams. There is some discussion behind the scenes about permitting the use of AdvancedRobots into the Robocode Ireland arena.
The problem with letting AdvancedRobots into the initial level of competition is that students can easily mimic the code without understanding how it works. Robocode organisers vet the code entering the competitive arena and attempt to ensure the presented code is original work.
As Phil Bourke explains, "The competition is about coding and we have a code camp (CODE BUNKER) area for students to work on beating the strategy adopted by opponents in the competition. The advanced robot limitation's main impact is blocking and this mean that the code has to be very, very efficient which is (to me) a nice side effect."
Robocode organisers are looking at coding a pit robot for the final match in 2005. Bourke says "this match works on the basis of which tank survives in the arena longest. We are also exploring the possibility of having obstacles in the arena."
Tipperary Institute -- "Getting started with Robocode"
x_ref26121
